One Piece
by 27WOTrace
Summary: The room was dark, making fumbling for the gun in the nightstand difficult. Natasha insisted on keeping it in there 'just in case'. In Pepper's sleepy state, it seemed like the best course of action. There was a huff of amused laughter. "Don't make me take that from you." PepperNatasha


This was written for a prompt on the Avengers kink meme asking for hurt/comfort with Natasha. I decided to give it a shot, but it's a bit short and light on the h/c.

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Pepper decided to call it a night earlier than she usually did. She had finished everything that needed to be done. Everything else could be taken care of when she woke up the next day with bright eyes and renewed energy. She pulled on a loose t-shirt and changed into a pair of pajama shorts before crawling into bed.

It had already been a long week, despite the fact that it was only Wednesday. Natasha had left on a mission a week ago, and she wasn't expected back for another few days. Pepper had taken the opportunity to cram in as much business as she could in that time.

Sleep settled over her quickly. JARVIS was under orders to only alert her to emergency situations. At times, living in the Tower put her at ease. She had JARVIS at her disposal, and she was always near any possible trouble the Avengers could get into, including one particular genius with a knack for disrupting her life on a daily basis. On the other hand, she was certain there were times that being there only ever increased her stress level.

She continued to sleep peacefully until she heard what sounded like footsteps. She stirred slowly, not sure if she had imagined it from a dream. There was a soft hiss that had her eyes snapping open. She sat up quickly and looked around. The room was dark, making fumbling for the gun in the nightstand difficult. Natasha insisted on keeping it in there 'just in case'. In Pepper's sleepy state, it seemed like the best course of action.

There was a huff of amused laughter. "Don't make me take that from you," the voice, while rough sounding, was one Pepper knew well.

"Natasha!" Pepper removed her hand from the nightstand immediately. "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days. JARVIS, lights at thirty percent," she said without pausing.

"JARVIS, wait-" The lights were on before she could finish her sentence. The AI likely wouldn't have listened. The only person with the power to override Pepper's orders was Tony.

Pepper gasped softly as she got a look at Natasha. She understood immediately why Natasha didn't want the lights on. She was in a black dress that had a large rip up the side of one leg with blood trailing from an injury Pepper couldn't see from her spot on the bed. There was a dark bruise around her neck, another one forming on her cheek, and a third over her eye, which had swollen pretty badly.

Pepper moved off the bed quickly, ignoring the way her body protested to the sudden movements. "What happened?" She asked as she looked over the visible injuries while simultaneously trying to identify any others that she couldn't see.

"Things… went sour," Natasha said after a moment. "I'm fine, Pepper. I just need to rest, and you do too."

Pepper frowned deeper at the smaller redhead's words. "You need to lie down so I can take care of these," she said. "Can you walk?"

Natasha gave her a look, but Pepper didn't back down. She was used to dealing with stubbornness and resistance. The fact that it was coming from Natasha was no surprise. "Yes," she answered after a long moment.

Pepper waited, standing close. It only seemed to irritate Natasha more, but she stood her ground. Natasha made her way toward the bed. Her movements were slow and stiff, nothing like her usual graceful steps. She seemed to favor one leg over the other, which raised another concern in Pepper's mind.

Pepper moved for the bathroom once Natasha was seated on the edge of the bed. She reemerged after collecting the first aid kit and a damp washcloth. She placed the two items down on the bed next to Natasha. Planting one hand in the mattress next to the assassin, she leaned over so she could work at the zipper at the back of Natasha's dress.

Her attention turned toward the first aid kit while Natasha worked the dress off her shoulders and pushed it down to her waist. Pepper popped the latches off of the kit and opened it up. She looked back at Natasha, expecting more bruises. What she didn't expect was the large gash on Natasha's side. It'd been stitched already, but the stitches didn't look as straight as they could have been. Pepper didn't need to ask why that was. "You should have gone to medical," she said.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of a minor injury," Natasha answered.

Pepper didn't argue the point. She hadn't meant to imply that with her words. She couldn't help but worry. She had seen Natasha in worse shape, but she tried not to think about that or the reality that any mission could be Natasha's last. She knew Natasha was highly capable, one of the best assassins in the world, but Pepper couldn't help worrying.

She set to work on cleaning up the blood around the stitches, along with a few other cuts on Natasha's torso.

The cut on Natasha's leg wasn't as bad as it had looked, though it was bleeding freely. Pepper took a step back to let Natasha stand and push the dress down, allowing it to fall to her ankles. She stepped out of it before taking her spot on the bed once more.

Pepper cleaned the wound and wrapped it carefully. As she worked her way down, she found that one of Natasha's ankles was bruised and swollen, likely sprained. It would explain why Natasha had been favoring one leg as she walked. Pepper wrapped it tightly, wanting to immobilize it. The likeliness of Natasha taking it easy on the ankle wasn't very high, so she wanted to do what she could while she had the chance.

As stubborn as Natasha was, she let Pepper take care of the injuries without a complaint. She moved when Pepper told her to, while listening to the CEO talking, more to herself than to Natasha.

"All done," Pepper said as she looked over her work. "You should lie down. I'll get some ice for the bruises. Are you hungry? You should probably drink some water. Your throat must be sore."

Natasha shook her head. Her throat was sore and her ankle throbbed, but she didn't care. "I don't need anything," she patted the bed. "You need to sleep."

Pepper was about to argue when it occurred to her what Natasha was really asking. "Okay," she agreed, packing up the first aid kit and putting it on the nightstand. She tossed the washcloth toward the corner of the room and moved around the other side of the bed, trying not to make Natasha move more than she had to. She crawled onto the bed and held the blankets up.

Natasha immediately settled herself against Pepper. Pepper wrapped her arms around the assassin carefully. She didn't want to wind up hurting her more than she already was. She kissed the top of Natasha's head, while running her fingers over the red curls.

As much as Natasha denied needing anything, it was clear she was exhausted. She relaxed against Pepper, and it wasn't long after they got settled that Natasha fell asleep. Pepper smiled fondly and tried to keep still, knowing Natasha was a light sleeper. She stayed awake for awhile after, unable to get back to sleep. She drifted off eventually, still holding Natasha close and knowing she'd returned home safe with just a few injuries that would heal reasonably quick.


End file.
